Bandwidth limiting on home network

I have 2 roomates (one that just moved in) and since he has moved in my download speed has taken a HUGE hit. I have cable that maxes around 3500 KBPS on bandwidth tests and its been going down to around 180 KBPS.

Its either him or the router thats messing things up b/c my speed is fine when just plugged in straight through the modem. I am going to talk to him and ask him about any p2p programs that he might be using as I assume they are the culprit.

Couple questions, if he doesn't quit it what can I do? I have already google'd the subject and it seems I either have to setup my own server/proxy to limit his bandwidth or setup some kind of software on HIS computer - both of which are probably not going to happen.
I will talk to him about it soon but I can't be sure he will stop and I really don't want to deal with 180 KBPS all the time. ugh.

I have a cheap d-link router (di-524 - with no bw limiting capabilities). I would like to find a solution to limit his bandwidth some how (other than blocking the ports of his p2p programs ).
So are there any solutions my googling didn't bring up?

thanks

Get a Linksys WRT54G and put a 3rd party firmware on it that has bandwidth management functions. Then you can restrict bandwidth by port and/or ip address.

<A HREF="http://www.folken.net/myrig.htm" target="_new">My precious...</A>

X program uses ports 10-20 let's say. You block those, everyone is blocked.. that program is blocked. If Y program uses port 5, it won't work because the port is blocked, or shut off in other words.

Something like IPCop or BrazilFW supports QoS bandwidth limiting. I haven't used it before but I know it supports this. These programs are both router operating systems that you install onto an older machine with two network cards. Of course there's the port blocking too for programs that use specific ports (of course those can change with new versions). But most of those P2P programs require you to get into the router to forward those ports so if you are running the default username/password on your router, change the password. DirectConnect and it's variants can run in passive mode too where it basically doesn't require you to forward a port(i'm guessing it uses a dynamic port) and still people can upload from your system and you can still download fairly fast.
I would definitely attempt to block this at all costs or atleast get him to cut back especially if the connection is registered in your name. The RIAA or MPAA could mail out a cease and desist if he is DL a lot of MP3's/movies.

It is also possible that he has a mass-mailing worm/virus on his system that's eating upload bandwidth.

I know on cable if you get any significant upload it can limit your download speeds (if the upload is maxed out on cable or any connection really, the acknowledment packets can't get through as quick because of all the other upload traffic. Therefore, your DL suffers)

I highly recommend using IPCop and any desired addons. You'll probably want to use QoS (Quality of Service) and possibly Copfilter (web proxy, especially handy in transparent mode so no browser proxy configuration is needed). Most importantly, use a "bandwidth management" app to restrict traffic.

If you prefer an app to manage your bandwidth, just google "bandwidth management", prepending "windows" in front if you prefer a Windows-only app. There are a lot of them out there with $50 being a good median price, so that should fit your budge nicely.

PS IPCop is easy to install and manage, even for a Windows-centric guy like me. Also, IPCop runs fine on an ancient P2-350 box with 256MB of RAM, and the box includes web proxy, filesharing, antivirus, and antispam filtering. o.O


[edit] This wikipedia page might help you out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netwo [...] easurement
It's a great list of bandwidth management tools, many of which are free, the rest being very cheap.